Has it been 9 years since the World Series of Poker introduced the delayed final table of the WSOP Main Event?

In just a couple of weeks we’ll see the 9th edition of the November Nine play out and again the poker world is hyped to see how the nine finalists will fare.

While not every November Nine has provided excellent poker, each year it has delivered some great entertainment and spectacular stories.

So many, in fact, we’re already teetering on the precipice of losing some to the rarely read poker history books.

Here are 9 November Nine stories from the last nine years worth remembering:

1. Phil Ivey Was Here

The man. The poker player. The legend.

The man in 2009.

Back in 2009 Phil Ivey was the most glamorous player in poker history. Having won seven bracelets already – two of them just days before –  Ivey had an incredible Main Event run and made it to the final table.

Despite being only 7th in chips Ivey was the favorite for the title among many bookkeepers. More importantly, he generated lots of hype for the November Nine.

He’s certainly the most prominent poker player to ever reach the Nov. 9.

Unfortunately, Ivey’s run at the final table found an untimely end when he lost all his chips Ace-King to Ace-Queen.

Who did the greatest pro back then lose against? Darvin Moon, one of the biggest amateurs to ever make the November Nine.

The self-employed logger from Maryland, who taught himself how to play poker, went on to finish 2nd and take home more than $5m.

2. Comeback Kids: Pius Heinz & Martin Jacobson

In 2011, a young German no one had heard of made it to the final table of the WSOP Main Event. 22-year-old Pius Heinz, who only started playing live poker that year, began from position 7 with only 8% of the chips.

Pius, Pius, Pius Heinz.

But Heinz went on to wreck the table with his very aggressive style, well-timed bluffs and surprisingly thin value bets.

In the end, Heinz beat Martin Staszko for the title and more than $8.7m and became the first (and so far only) German to win the Main Event.

Three years later Swedish professional Martin Jacobson came to the final table with even fewer chips. He started the November Nine from position 8 with fewer then 7.5% of the chips.

But with a precise and perfectly executed plan of attack, Jacobson beat the odds and took home $10m – the largest amount any November Niner has won (Jamie Gold won $12m in 2006 but that was before the November Nine).

3. Mark Newhouse: Back-to-Back 9ths

In 2013, Mark Newhouse made the November Nine for the first time.

Against all odds.

The 2006 WPT Borgata champ came into the final table 8th in chips with not too much hope for the title.

He only played a couple of hands then lost a flip with nines against AK and finished 9th.

So far, nothing out of the ordinary – besides of course being one of the last 9 players in a 6,000-player tournament.

What happened the very next year, however, is (almost) unbelievable. After he bought into the 2014 Main Event Newhouse sent out this tweet:

Just bought into the main event day 1c. Not fucking finishing 9th again— mark newhouse (@mark_hizzle) 7. Juli 2014

You know what happened. He fucking finished 9th again. This time, though, it was all so much worse.

Having been there the year before he was certainly the most experienced player on that WSOP stage and started third in chips behind only Felix Stephensen and Jorryt van Hoof.

But luck didn’t mean well with Newhouse. He lost some key hands, got unlucky setups and finally was all-in with tens against queens.

Only nine times has a player who made the final table won less than $1m – Mark Newhouse did it twice.

That was brief.

4. No Future for Brits

Speaking of 9th-place finishes …

We’ve had two British November Niners so far: James Akenhead in 2009 and Sam Holden in 2011.

Both started from ninth position and both only lasted a couple of hands before busting first.

Together, they’ve made the UK the least successful country among November Niners.

5. Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number

It’s safe to say that high-level tournament poker, for the most part, is for the young folk.

The average age of all November Niners is a bit over 31. Half of them were 27 or younger and only five were over 50.

But there are some players who seem to be like cheese and wine – they get better as they get older. A prime example is certainly Pierre Neuville.

At the age of 71 he cashed 8 times during the WSOP 2014 and even came 2nd in the $5k Six-Max event. In 2015 he topped that achievement by becoming the oldest November Niner at the age of 72.

Not only is Neuville the only player over 70 to make the November Nine, he’s also 11 years older than the 2nd-oldest November Niner.

That’s Neil Blumenfield, who incidentally made it to the final table the same year as Neuville.

6. Or, Actually, Age Does Matter

Want a surefire tip who’s going to win the 2016 Main Event?

That’s easy: Gordon Vayo.

Check the last eight WSOP Main Event winners:

2008	Peter Eastgate	22
2009	Joe Cada	21
2010	Jonathan Duhamel	22
2011	Pius Heinz	22
2012	Greg Merson	24
2013	Ryan Riess	23
2014	Martin Jacobson	27
2015	Joe McKeehen	24

Seven are 24 or younger. All are 27 or younger. This year just one player fits the “27 or younger” category. That’s Vayo. So, going by this logic, he’s the safe bet.

7. Baumann, Hille Bubble

A rather disappointing fact: No female player has made the November Nine

So close.

After nine years it’s still an all-male club.

Elisabeth Hille and Gaelle Baumann came incredibly close in 2012 but busted in 11th and 10th place, respectively.

Baumann repeated her Last Woman Standing Title in 2016 when she finished 102nd. Maria Ho has also claimed the LWS title twice.

These are the highest finishes for women since 2008:

Year	Player	Place
2008	Tiffany Michelle	17
2009	Leo Margets	27
2010	Breeze Zuckerman	121
2011	Erika Moutinho	29
2012	Gaelle Baumann	10
2013	Jackie Glazier	31
2014	Maria Ho	77
2015	Kelly Minkin	29
2016	Gaelle Baumann	102

8. Our Man, Our Title!

Twenty different nations have been represented at the final table since 2008. Forty-four of the 81 players came from the United States – the clear majority.

First time’s the charm.

But only four of the last eight titles went to American players. One Canadian (Jonathan Duhamel) and three Europeans snatched the others away

The three Europeans have one thing in common: they’re the only November Niners from their country.

Peter Eastgate is the only Dane, Pius Heinz the only German and Martin Jacobson the only Swede to ever make the November Nine.

All three of them took home the title. Talk about efficiency.

9. Newcomers Do It Better

There have been 81 November Niners in total and only 9 had won a bracelet before making the biggest final table of their life:

• Phil Ivey
• Michael Mizrachi
• Ben Lamb
• Greg Merson
• Steven Gee
• Amir Lehavot
• JC Tran
• Max Steinberg
• Cliff Josephy

From this group so far only Merson managed to turn his experience into the championship title. Seven of the past eight champions won their first bracelet in the Main Event.

Peter Eastgate’s title also was his very first WSOP cash.

Bonus Facts

• Daniel Negreanu is the ‘most famous’ player to “near-miss” the November Nine. He missed the Final Table narrowly in 2015 when he busted in 11th. Former Main Event winner Carlos Mortensen also narrowly missed when he bubbled the final table in 2013.
• Joe Cada was the youngest player to win the title at age 21 years, 357 days.
• Steven Begleiter was the highest profile non-professional player to reach the November Nine. The investment strategist worked for Wall Street (Bear Stearns) for 24 years before finishing 6th in the Main Event in 2009.
• One of the biggest Main Event fails happened one year before the November Nine. Philipp Hilm started the final table as chipleader with a considerable lead but somehow managed to melt down completely and finished in 9th.

All November Niners Since 2008

Year	Player	Age	Country	Chips	Starting Position	Final Place	Prize
2008	Peter Eastgate	22	DK	18,375,000	4 / 9	1 (+3)	$9,152,416
2008	Ivan Demidov	27	RU	24,400,000	2 / 9	2 (+/-0)	$5,809,595
2008	Dennis Phillips	53	US	26,295,000	1 / 9	3 (-2)	$4,517,773
2008	Ylon Schwartz	38	US	12,525,000	5 / 9	4 (+1)	$3,774,974
2008	Scott Montgomery	27	CA	19,690,000	3 / 9	5 (-2)	$3,096,768
2008	Darus Suharto	39	CA	12,520,000	6 / 9	6 (+/-0)	$2,418,562
2008	David Rheem	28	US	10,230,000	7 / 9	7 (+/-0)	$1,772,650
2008	Kelly Kim	32	US	2,620,000	9 / 9	8 (+1)	$1,288,217
2008	Craig Marquis	23	US	10,210,000	8 / 9	9 (-1)	$900,670
2009	Joe Cada	21	US	13,215,000	5 / 9	1 (+4)	$8,547,042
2009	Darvin Moon	46	US	58,930,000	1 / 9	2 (-1)	$5,182,928
2009	Antoine Saout	25	FR	9,500,000	8 / 9	3 (+5)	$3,479,670
2009	Eric Buchman	30	US	34,800,000	2 / 9	4 (-2)	$2,502,890
2009	Jeff Shulman	34	US	19,580,000	4 / 9	5 (-1)	$1,953,452
2009	Steven Begleiter	47	US	29,885,000	3 / 9	6 (-3)	$1,587,160
2009	Phil Ivey	32	US	9,765,000	7 / 9	7 (+/-0)	$1,404,014
2009	Kevin Schaffel	51	US	12,390,000	6 / 9	8 (-2)	$1,300,231
2009	James Akenhead	26	UK	6,800,000	9 / 9	9 (+/-0)	$1,263,602
2010	Jonathan Duhamel	22	CA	65,975,000	1 / 9	1 (+/-0)	$8,944,310
2010	John Racener	24	US	19,050,000	4 / 9	2 (+2)	$5,545,955
2010	Joseph Cheong	24	US	23,525,000	3 / 9	3 (+/-0)	$4,130,049
2010	Filippo Candio	26	IT	16,400,000	6 / 9	4 (+2)	$3,092,545
2010	Michael Mizrachi	29	US	14,450,000	7 / 9	5 (+2)	$2,332,992
2010	John Dolan	24	US	46,250,000	2 / 9	6 (-4)	$1,772,959
2010	Jason Senti	28	US	7,625,000	9 / 9	7 (+2)	$1,356,720
2010	Matthew Jarvis	25	CA	16,700,000	5 / 9	8 (-3)	$1,045,743
2010	Cuong Soi Nguyen	37	US	9,650,000	8 / 9	9 (-1)	$811,823
2011	Pius Heinz	22	DE	16,425,000	7 / 9	1 (+6)	$8,715,638
2011	Martin Staszko	35	CZ	40,175,000	1 / 9	2 (-1)	$5,433,086
2011	Ben Lamb	26	US	20,875,000	5 / 9	3 (+2)	$4,021,138
2011	Matt Giannetti	26	US	24,750,000	3 / 9	4 (-1)	$3,012,700
2011	Phil Collins	26	US	23,875,000	4 / 9	5 (-1)	$2,269,599
2011	Eoghan O’Dea	26	IE	33,925,000	2 / 9	6 (-4)	$1,720,831
2011	Badih “Bob” Bounahra	49	BZ	19,700,000	6 / 9	7 (-1)	$1,314,097
2011	Anton Makiievskyi	21	UA	13,825,000	8 / 9	8 (+/-0)	$1,010,015
2011	Sam Holden	22	UK	12,375,000	9 / 9	9 (+/-0)	$782,115
2012	Greg Merson	24	US	28,725,000	3 / 9	1 (+2)	$8,531,853
2012	Jesse Sylvia	26	US	43,875,000	1 / 9	2 (-1)	$5,295,149
2012	Jacob Balsiger	21	US	13,115,000	8 / 9	3 (+5)	$3,797,558
2012	Russell Thomas	24	US	24,800,000	4 / 9	4 (+/-0)	$2,850,494
2012	Jeremy Ausmus	32	US	9,805,000	9 / 9	5 (+4)	$2,154,616
2012	Andras Koroknai	30	HU	29,375,000	2 / 9	6 (-4)	$1,640,461
2012	Michael Esposito	44	US	16,260,000	6 / 9	7 (-1)	$1,257,790
2012	Robert Salaburu	27	US	15,155,000	7 / 9	8 (-1)	$971,252
2012	Steven Gee	57	US	16,860,000	5 / 9	9 (-4)	$754,798
2013	Ryan Riess	23	US	25,875,000	5 / 9	1 (+4)	$8,361,570
2013	Jay Farber	28	US	25,975,000	4 / 9	2 (+2)	$5,174,357
2013	Amir Lehavot	38	IL	29,700,000	2 / 9	3 (-1)	$3,727,823
2013	Sylvain Loosli	26	FR	19,600,000	6 / 9	4 (+2)	$2,792,533
2013	J.C. Tran	36	US	38,000,000	1 / 9	5 (-4)	$2,106,893
2013	Marc McLaughlin	25	CA	26,525,000	3 / 9	6 (-3)	$1,601,024
2013	Michiel Brummelhuis	32	NL	11,275,000	7 / 9	7 (+/-0)	$1,225,224
2013	David Benefield	27	US	6,375,000	9 / 9	8 (+1)	$944,593
2013	Mark Newhouse	28	US	7,350,000	8 / 9	9 (-1)	$733,224
2014	Martin Jacobson	27	SE	14,900,000	8 / 9	1 (+7)	$10,000,000
2014	Felix Stephensen	24	NO	32,775,000	2 / 9	2 (+/-0)	$5,147,911
2014	Jorryt van Hoof	31	NL	38,375,000	1 / 9	3 (-2)	$3,807,753
2014	William Tonking	27	US	15,050,000	7 / 9	4 (+3)	$2,849,763
2014	Billy Pappas	29	US	17,500,000	6 / 9	5 (+1)	$2,143,794
2014	Andoni Larrabe	22	ES	22,550,000	4 / 9	6 (-2)	$1,622,471
2014	Dan Sindelar	30	US	21,200,000	5 / 9	7 (-2)	$1,236,084
2014	Bruno Politano	31	BR	12,125,000	9 / 9	8 (+1)	$947,172
2014	Mark Newhouse	29	US	26,000,000	3 / 9	9 (-6)	$730,725
2015	Joe McKeehen	24	US	63,100,000	1 / 9	1 (+/-0)	$7,683,346
2015	Joshua Beckley	24	US	11,800,000	7 / 9	2 (+5)	$4,470,896
2015	Neil Blumenfield	61	US	22,000,000	3 / 9	3 (+/-0)	$3,398,298
2015	Max Steinberg	27	US	20,200,000	5 / 9	4 (+1)	$2,615,361
2015	Ofer Stern	36	IL	29,800,000	2 / 9	5 (-3)	$1,911,423
2015	Thomas Cannuli	23	US	12,250,000	6 / 9	6 (+/-0)	$1,426,283
2015	Pierre Neuville	72	BE	21,075,000	4 / 9	7 (-3)	$1,203,293
2015	Federico Butteroni	25	IT	6,200,000	9 / 9	8 (+1)	$1,097,056
2015	Patrick Chan	26	US	6,225,000	8 / 9	9 (-1)	$1,001,020
2016	Cliff Josephy	50	US	74,600,000	1 / 9
2016	Qui Nguyen	39	US	67,925,000	2 / 9
2016	Gordon Vayo	27	US	49,375,000	3 / 9
2016	Kenny Hallaert	34	BE	43,325,000	4 / 9
2016	Michael Ruane	28	US	31,600,000	5 / 9
2016	Voyjtech Ruzicka	30	CZ	27,300,000	6 / 9
2016	Griffin Benger	31	CA	26,175,000	7 / 9
2016	Jerry Wong	34	US	10,175,000	8 / 9
2016	Fernando Pons	37	ES	6,150,000	9 / 9